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Feature: DVDPro: Can Beowulf Save HD-DVD?

Feature by Dave Rudden | 03/25/2008 | 17:08:42 PM PST

One of the most technically impressive films of 2007 finally makes its way to high-def. Does this action-epic serve tribute to HD-DVD?

A funny thing happened in after I received the review copy of Beowulf on HD-DVD but before I sat down to watch it. The format died.

Okay, so maybe it's not "ha ha" funny, but there was a strange sense of irony that came over me as I popped the disc into the Xbox 360's HD-DVD player. Here's a movie that's supposed to be a benchmark for CGI and features the finest in voice acting and special effects, and it's playing on this generation's Betamax. Fortunately during these, the dying days of HD-DVD, you've actually got more reason than ever before to invest in a player... really! Got an Xbox 360 and $50 burning a hole in your pocket? Then you can get a taste of this beautiful yet beleaguered format for as cheap as you'll ever have the chance too. But if you do decide to make a cheap sojourn into the world of HD-DVD, is Beowulf worth scouring soon-to-be-cleared stock for?

You don't get to see them

For those unfamiliar with the story, Beowulf is one of the oldest pieces of English literature, dating back to the turn of the second millennium. That's around the year 1000, for you math majors. The movie faithfully adapts the centuries-old text, salvaging the major plot points--a besieged villiage, two menacing monsters, and one group of savage heroes--but manages to strike a balance between sounding too ancient or contemporary. The brutal violence and wanton debauchery seems like it could have existed back then and is welcome now. There's a few forgettable characters like Beowulf's brigade, and a sizable amount of King Hrothgar's constituency, but the characters that matter are pretty memorable. Beowulf himself is cocky and a bit of a brute, but Ray Winstone's tenacity manages to get you to root for him. Grendel channels Gollum, but adds a layer of eeriness due to the voice acting of Crispin Glover. Voicing Unferth, John Malkovich plays the sneering sycophant almost as well as he does in the flesh, and while Angelina Jolie doesn't get a lot of screen time as Grendel's mother, her brief time on the screen is memorable.

The plot manages to keep fresh after 1000 years, but the visuals are just a bit askew. Beowulf is entrenched in the Uncanny Valley of animation that CGI suffers from right now--it's almost realistic, but the fact that you can still tell manages to be a bit of a visual turn-off. While there are some shots that almost fool you (especially close-ups of the Beowulf), there are an equal number of odd-looking characters (Beowulf's Queen and mistress) and scenes that push you away. Beowulf tries to mix the Polar Express and 300 in its visual style, and comes off looking worse for the wear. The HD-DVD format only exaggerates the "close, but no cigar" visual style, unfortunately.

I AM BEOWULF!=THIS IS SPARTA!

You can really feel the power of this once mighty format once you dig into the extras, though. There's plenty of stuff you're probably used to, including plenty of deleted scenes and documentaries, but the HD-DVD extras really seal the deal. Most impressive are the interactive picture-in-picture features including commentary and making-of features. If you're impressed by either the story of the visuals (some of you may be less weirded-out about it than I), then you'll definitely want to dive into the bountiful bonus features this two-disc set offers.

Is it worth checking out Beowulf even though his current high-def home is on a format that's becoming increasingly obsolete? It really depends on how long you're willing to wait, and how invested you are in Blu-ray. If you're a PS3 owner, wait for the Blu-ray version, as the most technologically advanced features will probably be possible on the versatile player. Some older Blu-ray players aren't very upgrade-friendly, so you may want to consider going with HD-DVD if you're staying with the Xbox 360 this console generation. And, of course, there's always the standard DVD version...

Final Score: 3.5/5